amusing mispronounciations on radio

[rostasi]

How many ways have you heard "Jack DeJohnette" pronounced?

only like the mustard

Jack Poupon?

[JSngry]

Jack Frenchs.

[frank m]

We have a high schopl station on fm here, run by a teacher and a bunch of kids for announcers. The poor kids have a terrible time with jazzmen's names. and repeatedly make awful mistakes. Mel Torm for example.

[Free For All]

"Zhackay"

[Spontooneous]

Yet when I spoke publicly about the Phineas Newborn tribute concert, taking great care to pronounce the name "Fine-us" as he did, the concert presenter snootily and repeatedly "corrected" me to "Fin-ee-us."

[Stereojack]

Yet when I spoke publicly about the Phineas Newborn tribute concert, taking great care to pronounce the name "Fine-us" as he did, the concert presenter snootily and repeatedly "corrected" me to "Fin-ee-us."

Actually both are correct. Newborn's name was actually Phinus, pronounced FINE-us, but kids in high school used to taunt him and call him "fine-ass", so he changed it to the more conventional Phineas, even though his friends still called him Phinus. I heard this from his brother, Calvin Newborn.

[JSngry]

Perhaps a sign of the increased awareness of Hispanic culture in Texas, a decrease in the awareness of Afrocentricity amongst many jazz musicians of a certain era, sheer ignorance, or a combination thereof, but the people on KNTU have recently put a side w/Onaje Allan Gumbs into rotation, and they unanimously announce him as "o-NAH-hey".

[Jazz Kat]

Chuck Mangone.

[Trumpet Guy]

Lew Ta-bacon

Potato Valdez

[robviti]

i've heard from a reliable source that kenny dorham's name is actually pronounced "kin-knee door-ham."

what-chall think o' dat?!

Edited April 16, 2005 by jazzshrink

[Jazz Kat]

how do you normally pronounce it?

[robviti]

most people i know say "ken-ney dor-um."

[marcello]

His first name was McKinley, right? So he was called, early on: KINNY Dorham.

[Don Brown]

I recall one time doing a monthly "new releases" edition of the Jazz Scene with Ted O'Reilly on CJRT-FM here in Toronto. Ted handed me a Clark Terry CD to introduce. When the selection we chose came to an end I did the extro. I pointed out that there was a second trumpet player on the date and that his name was Greg Gisbert. Now, in Canada, a bilingual country (French and English are both official languages), that surname would be pronounced "Zhee-bair", which is the way I pronounced it. Well, Ted interrupted me, reminding me that Greg Gisbert was an American and that he apparently pronounced his name "Gizz-bert". Migawd!!! So I guess it really depends on where one happens to live.

Edited April 16, 2005 by Don Brown

[Jazz Kat]

most people i know say "ken-ney dor-um."

I usually say Kenny Dor-hum. Not quite um, but a hint of h in there, "dor-hum."

[Free For All]

Lew Ta-bacon

Potato Valdez

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......potatoes and bacon..........................

[JSngry]

I recall one time doing a monthly "new releases" edition of the Jazz Scene with Ted O'Reilly on CJRT-FM here in Toronto. Ted handed me a Clark Terry CD to introduce. When the selection we chose came to an end I did the extro. I pointed out that there was a second trumpet player on the date and that his name was Greg Gisbert. Now, in Canada, a bilingual country (French and English are both official languages), that surname would be pronounced "Zhee-bair", which is the way I pronounced it. Well, Ted interrupted me, reminding me that Greg Gisbert was an American and that he apparently pronounced his name "Gizz-bert". Migawd!!! So I guess it really depends on where one happens to live.

His friends just call him Gizzy, or so I've heard.

[Jazz Kat]

Jack Dee-Jo-Net

[CJ Shearn]

a teacher I know always says Jack De-John-ay............................. even in the class I TA'ed. and what about Airbee Ankok

[Don Brown]

People are truly perverse when it comes to pronunciation. Anyone with a modicum of knowledge of the French language knows that "Jacquet" should be pronounced "Ja- kay", which was how Illinois Jacquet himself pronounced it. But, of course, everyone else said "Ja- kett", and Illinois decided to accept that. But then there was Paul Quinichette. Most folks tended to pronounce his name "Quin-i-shay", but as Paul explained in a Down Beat Magazine interview, there were two "T"s in his name and it should actually be pronounced to rhyme with "cigarette".

[Jazzmoose]

Wait a minute; so I was pronouncing Jacquet correctly after all? I'm getting mighty confused here.

signed,

Jassmeusse

[Don Brown]

Actually, you were. But even Illinois himself gave up, and "Jack-ett" has become the accepted pronunciation.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

How about changing the "Illinois" part, then? Gotta be "Eelnwah" because "Ill-i-noy Zhakay" just ain't gonna work.....

Mike

[rostasi]

People are truly perverse when it comes to pronunciation. Anyone with a modicum of knowledge of the French language knows that "Jacquet" should be pronounced "Ja- kay", which was how Illinois Jacquet himself pronounced it. But, of course, everyone else said "Ja- kett", and Illinois decided to accept that. But then there was Paul Quinichette. Most folks tended to pronounce his name "Quin-i-shay", but as Paul explained in a Down Beat Magazine interview, there were two "T"s in his name and it should actually be pronounced to rhyme with "cigarette".

So, it's actually "kwin" and not "kin-a-shet"?

[Don Brown]

Illinois Jacquet used to introduce himself as "Jean-Baptiste "Eely-nwah Zha-kay" from Broussard, Louisiana".

Quinichette, I believe pronounced his name "Kwin-i-shett", but the name would be pronounced Kin-i-shett in the French-speaking world.